Sunday, December 27, 2015

Finally got my 10 sample niche perfume pack from Surrender to Chance. I just pulled one out randomly to use today and it was Le Labo Rose 31.

It started out as a spicy rose scent that reminded me more of a papery dried rose than a fresh one. It dried to be slightly more woodsy but a little bit green on me and had a soft and sweet finish.

At first sniff, I thought it might be a bit old lady-ish for me, but I actually really liked this scent.

It doesn't seem to have a lot of sillage for me, but I wonder if it's wearing like that because I only have it with a dabber instead of a spray.

TLDR

They say: Rose 31 by Le Labo is a Floral Woody Musk fragrance for women and men. Rose 31 was launched in 2006. The nose behind this fragrance is Daphne Bugey. Top notes are rose and caraway; middle notes are rose, vetiver and cedar; base notes are musk, guaiac wood, olibanum, labdanum and agarwood (oud).

Monday, December 14, 2015

What's in a name? Well when you have a name like Scent Intense, expectations run high. I was expecting something stronger from this next sample from Olfactif's Smoldering collection.

This was mostly very ambery on me, powdery and sweet. There was an interesting hibiscus note (it was like hibiscus iced tea more specifically) that faded over time. There was something synthetic about it, but not unpleasantly so. It didn't last super long, and became kind of a soft generic perfume smell on me. It was just forgettable and meh all around...or I'm just really not into amber.

Scent Intense? More like scent intensely disappointing. Har har har.

TLDR

They say: Scent Intense by Costume National is a Chypre Floral fragrance for women. Scent Intense was launched in 2002. The nose behind this fragrance is Laurent Bruyere. The fragrance features amber, sandalwood, patchouli, hibiscus, jasmine, tea and crystal amber.

First sprayed, it is spicy and citrus on me, with the black pepper, cardamom and bergamot notes very obvious. The smokiness quickly asserted itself. I didn't really get any coffee. It wore quite close to the skin and lasted maybe 4-5 hours or so, becoming slightly more floral as time wore on. I applied it in the afternoon and it was definitely gone by the time I went to bed.

This perfume was much more evocative than anything else I've tried as yet. It reminded me of trips with pine trees, camp fires and citronella candles. And then it made me think of a more recent and specific memory. My sister and I had taken a trip to a yurt on the California central coast last month. The yurt was only heated by a wood stove; it was quite chilly in the evenings so we quickly became acquainted with building fires. One night, we were huddled around the stove and my sister was peeling and eating a pomelo. That citrus wood smokiness is how I think of Otis & Me.

I really like this scent and what I experience when I wear it, but I actually feel like it is perfect for my sister, and not just because of the aforementioned scent memory. When she lived in New York with me, she would often get this cocktail of mezcal and grapefruit called a Salt and Ash and proclaim, "I love smokey things!" I guess this is a round about way of saying that while I like this scent, it's not necessarily in character for me. I will use the rest of my sample, but I don't know if I would buy a full bottle (unless it's a gift for my sister!).

TLDR

They say: Otis & Me by Jazmin Sarai is a Oriental fragrance for women and men. This is a new fragrance. Otis & Me was launched in 2014. The nose behind this fragrance is Dana El Masri. The fragrance features black pepper, bergamot, cardamom, turkish rose, incense, gurjan balsam and coffee.

On me: Spicy, citrusy, smokey. Doesn't project a ton or last super long.

Y/N/M: Y if I'm in the mood for something smokey, and definitely Y as a gift for my sister.

Monday, December 7, 2015

It's funny that I told the Sephora associate that I don't like too sweet or food-y scents, and wound up with two vanillic floral oriental samples. He told me Addict would be vanilla-y, but implored that I give it a try. Since this perfume hobby is a voyage of discovery, I decided to go with it. Also, on paper, there was a bright, maybe citrus (?) top note that I found kind of interesting.

I finally got around to skin testing it this weekend. On first spray, I unfortunately couldn't find that top note that I smelled on paper. It was very vanilla on me from the beginning. There were other things going on for sure, something spicy, something woodsy and of course something floral, but the vanilla and powder made it hard for me to concentrate on anything else. Over the course of the day, the scent didn't change so much but became a softer, warmer vanilla maybe with a hint of chocolate,

Although Addict is similar to Alien in the way it smells on me on me, the vanilla in Addict was not unpleasant. It wasn't overly sweet, nor did it feel overtly synthetic like Alien. Definitely food-y, but something tasty. In fact, if I liked vanilla, I might even wear this. Addict is supposed to have very strong sillage and staying power, but in my opinion, compared to Alien it is practically restrained!

TLDR

They say: Oriental fragrance with floral notes. Rich, sensual, encourages you to bold and straightforward actions, it makes you feel free and energetic. Dance! The top notes are mandarin leaves and mulberry flowers; Night Queen Flower, Bulgarian rose and orange flower are in the heart; the base is created with Bourbon vanilla, sandal wood and Tonka bean. The perfume was created by Thierry Wasser in 2002.

On me: Mostly vanilla, then more vanilla, and then a soft vanilla
Y/N/M: No. Not unpleasant, but not my thing.

Friday, December 4, 2015

I am waiting for samples to come from Surrender to Chance, so yesterday I figured I'd get a bit of a perfume fix by dropping by Sephora. Generally, I tend to gravitate towards floral and green scents, but this doesn't feel quite right for the weather. I asked the salesperson for a warm scent for winter, with the caveat that I don't like anything too sweet or food-like (like, I don't even really like eating dessert).

He suggested Thierry Mugler Alien, describing it as a warm amber. I was hesitant because I was worried it would be very vanilla, but on the strip it was actually very floral so I gave it a try on my skin. It was VERY soapy, green and floral on me to start. When I got home I looked up the official notes and apparently one of the top notes is jasmine, which makes sense for the floral bit.

I went to ballet class with it on (where one friend before class said I smelled like Dove soap, bah). It very quickly became warmer on me throughout the class as I heated up and by the end it got very vanilla-y. This phase wasn't unpleasant initially...but by the end of the evening it was sickly sweet with a slight powdery thing (also hate powder) and I was over it.

I tried a little bit this morning just to see if I would feel any different, but if anything it's even worse. Makes me feel a bit nauseous. Tried to scrub it off but this stuff lingers, blech.

TLDR

They say: The creators of Alien based the composition on three main lines: warm white amber in the base, woodsy notes in the heart, and sunny Indian jasmine in the top. Alien was launched in 2005. Alien was created by Dominique Ropion and Laurent Bruyere.

On me: Soapy green floral to a vanilla that becomes sickly sweet with a hint of powder. Big scent that lasts forever unfortunately.
Y/N/M: NO GET IT OFF OF ME PLEASE.

I'm writing this blog just to keep track of the perfumes I try, mostly for myself. I'm much better with accountability in a blog.

I am a perfume newbie. Funnily enough, I did want to be a nose when I was a teenager after reading about it in Vogue. This was mostly because I have a pretty good sense of smell and a decent palate. I wound up turning my interest towards wine and food most of these years, but recently found myself intrigued by scents.

There are a lot more expert resources out there on the internet, this is just my little amateur pet project. Here we go!